Health Ministry Director General Prof. Nachman Ash said Wednesday that he supports bringing back stricter health measures to battle the surge of coronavirus, including the Green Pass mandate, capsule learning at schools and mandatory quarantine for all returning travelers from abroad.
Prof. Ash told Ynet the so-called "Revelry Pass" order that came into effect on Wednesday morning is not enough to curb the spread of the Delta variant.
The mandate obliges anyone entering events attended by more than 100 people to present a Green Pass or a negative coronavirus test at the entrance.
"My professional stance is to take immediate steps. We think it is not right to wait, because it will be harder to stop when we reach larger numbers [of active cases]," he said.
"We are working very closely with the Education Ministry to formulate a plan that includes both coronavirus tests and a plan to prepare for situations, where there are more areas with high infection rates, where there is no choice but to reduce class sizes to prevent the spread."
Prof. Ash said Health Ministry representatives will recommend to the government to bring back the Green Pass mandate during a coronavirus cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Green Pass is a certificate issued to those who've been vaccinated with both vaccine shots or recovered from COVID. Before Israel lifted most of its health restrictions in May, Green Pass had to be presented at entrances to many public facilities.
"We will present our recommendation for the return of the Green Pass. I estimate that there will also be a discussion about the airport. There are some options that should ultimately reduce entry [of travelers] from Ben Gurion Airport."
He added the Health Ministry is currently mulling whether to recommend mandatory isolation for all arrivals from abroad or at least expanding the list of countries that are considered "high risk".
"It is an option that we are discussing, and there is an option to expand the circle of countries that require isolation. We will formulate the draft [on airports] during the day."